Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 509: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if funding is available for Sligo Travellers Support Group. [4949/04]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Apart from the back to work and back to education allowance the only source of funding available to my Department which might apply in this case is the special projects fund. This fund enables my Department's jobs facilitators to provide supports to people who need additional help to progress to further training and employment.

The groups who need special help of this nature include the long-term ill and people with disabilities, the very long-term unemployed, travellers, people with literacy difficulties and lone parents.

A small amount of funding is also available to jobs facilitators through the Family Services Project to support marginalised groups, for example, very young lone parents, parents rearing children without the support of a partner and dependant spouses on social welfare payments in households with children and carers.

The group in question has not submitted an application for funding from the special projects fund or from the family services project fund in 2003 or in 2004 to-date. However, I have requested that my Department officials meet the group to discuss its requirements.